Physicist gives simple explanation of what happens when we die but not everybody is convinced

We don't know actually what happens when we die.

We have some inklings and scientific theories and experiences from people who have been close to death, but no one's actually been there and back to tell the tale.

American physicist Edwin C. May recently shared his thoughts on this topic during an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast.

According to May, who founded the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, there is simply nothing after death.

When asked what he thinks happens when we die, he simply replied: Nothing.'

When asked how he came to that conclusion, May went on to say: 'I can’t say my experience yet… I’ve done a lot of reading and most neuroscientists believe that consciousness is a outgrowth of the brain, an emergent property of the brain.

'And if that is true, consciousness cannot survive burning the brain in a crematorium after you're dead. It can’t do it.'

May noted the future may hold the answers to these questions as we'll have more information than we do now.

He said it creates interesting open questions that we may not be able to solve, like the meaning of life.

Instead, over time scientists are adding 'tools to the toolkit' so 'someone 50 years from now can answer those questions.'

The video which was shared on wartalk.interviews on TikTok has reached over 8,500 likes and almost 3,000 comments.

Darrin Klimek / Getty

However, not everyone agrees with the physicist.

'After death it’s the same as before birth,' wrote the first user on the comment thread.

'Coming from someone who’s been declared clinically dead and brought back three times had SEVERAL out of body experiences and had my own experiences we definitely go somewhere when we die,' the second user added.

Others are more neutral about the answer, saying: 'No one’s ever lived to tell.' and 'No one knows with certainty. But I've not yet seen any evidence for consciousness existing outside of the brain.'

Another user shared their personal experience: 'I flatlined in 2018 and it was the same as it was before I was born. Absolutely nothing. But it wasn't scary or bad because there was nothing to feel. It isn't something to fear.'

• Radical new theory of consciousness could finally offer explanation of what happens when you die
• Leading scientist reveals disturbing theory on what happens when we die
• Man with highest IQ in the world makes shocking revelation about what happens when we die
• Surprising MRI scans uncover exactly what happens to our brains when we yawn